Tuesday night I was lucky enough to attend the Rockstar Uproar Festival in Columbus, Ohio. Nothing is ever easy and I attended this festival with a raging ear ache. Yeah. But now I’ve got antibiotics and I’m on the mend. I digress. At any rate, the band I really went to see was Avenged Sevenfold. I caught a little of Stone Sour and Disturbed and they sounded great…but the night belonged to A7X.

The crowd at Nationwide Arena was pretty excitable. I’m used to people jumping and screaming around me – that’s a rock show – but I wasn’t prepared for what happened just one song into Avenged Sevenfold’s set.

A7X is touring behind Nightmare and the stage is sort of modeled after a gothic castle, complete with fire, smoke and the occasional firework pot. There are skulls, a gate and I think the apron of the stage is supposed to be a moat (or maybe not. I just think that sounds cool). Right at the beginning of the show, a man hangs himself from what looks like a steel bed. “Nightmare,” get it? I thought it was a dummy hanging over the crowd – until I looked a little harder and realized that it was, in fact, a real person strapped in by a harness. Obviously the noose was fake, just like a page from the Alice Cooper play book.

So after the initial shock of watching a guy fake hang himself, the guys in A7X sort of sauntered on stage and began ripping into their songs. I had a pretty close view and was watching drummer Mike Portnoy closely. It was cool to see him with Avenged Sevenfold. Singer M. Shadows was wearing a classic Guns n’ Roses shirt, and I felt a little pride. So as “Nightmare” continued on, the floor crowd started getting more and more rowdy. I was elevated enough to see it all – and I was watching my husband take pictures of the band down in the pit. Actually, by the middle of "Nightmare," the crowd is so distracting, I’m watching the idiots more than I am the band. It wasn’t long before the barrier buckled, I saw the security manager start grabbing media and pulling the photogs away. So, as I watch my husband nearly die, I see a couple thousand kids surge forward and get very near the stage. About 15 security guards are literally holding the barrier back. When “Nightmare” ended, the house lights came up and Shadows said the show had to stop and everyone had to take a couple steps backward. Of course, no one complied so there was a good five minutes of wasted time while the guards battled the floor crowd back. Eventually, the barrier was fixed, photogs were allowed back down front and the show resumed. I’ve never been to a concert that was interrupted thanks to morons. Like, what do you think you’re going to do if everyone rushes forward and the barrier does break all the way? Get on stage? Kiss the band? Um, no.

Again, I digress.

So A7X is just wailing through their show. Around the end of “Welcome to the Family” a nutcase crowd-surfed to the front, got pulled to safety by security, wriggled free of the big guard and jumped half on stage. Guitarist Zacky Vengeance sort of just stepped backward, security grabbed the guy and he fought the entire way out of the venue. I have no idea what happens if you rush a stage at a show. Do you go to jail? Get a fine? Would it be worth it?

The only time A7X sort of hit a little snag was at the beginning of “Buried Alive.” The harmonics sounded off but maybe it was my ear. After all, it’s pretty screwed up right now. As the song progressed, things smoothed out and sounded awesome again. Oh, and "God Hates Us" was a highlight.

There was a nice tribute to The Rev during “So Far Away” and “Afterlife.” The backing banner changed to the same photo of The Rev that is included inside the CD tray of Nightmare.

It’s not an A7X show without “Unholy Confessions.” The song is my favorite from the Avenged Sevenfold catalog – I love it live!

After the show, I got an awesome Avenged Sevenfold shirt. It’s probably my favorite concert tee of my whole collection – it’s purple, even. For those that panic when reading about bands like Avenged Sevenfold on this website, take note: this band is the real deal. Give them a chance. Seriously.

Well hey, I was in that floor crowd, on Zacky's side and right up against the barrier. If being in the surging crowd of people screaming out for their band makes me an idiot, I'm glad to be called one actually. That show was amazing up close, and screaming along with the songs just adds to the experience of a lifetime. Breaking the barrier was a little much, but what can you do when the fans of one of the most epic bands get that excited?

I was at the show in Toronto last night and similar to Columbus, A7X stole the show and it seemed like most of the crowd was there to see them. If I was younger, I would have been up on the floor with the rest of the idiots, but alas, my moshing days are behind me.

Halestorm & Stone Sour were also really strong. Disturbed were as tight as ever, but the energy of the show seemed lacking after what A7X put us through.

I was on the barricade next to the one that broke, if they had actually put the correct pins that held them together it might not have broken. Not to mention all of the security that was in front could barely see over the crowd and fell every time they caught a crowd surfer. So that whole situation could have easily been avoided if everything had been assembled correctly. I mean people are gonna push forward to try and get closer, it happens at every show. Sorry for the rant but anyway AVENGED SEVENFOLD stole the show and should have definitely been the headliners!

I wonder why the barrier wans't constructed properly? The security company looked to be the same as the one that does Rock on the Range...so they should have known better. The Rockstar folks are top notch, too. They know they need a strong barrier. I thought the whole thing was weird. I like being down close myself - but I didn't feel well and in this instance, I was glad I was up high.

I would think that if a fan rushes a stage in Columbus, OH that there is pretty big trouble now. Anywhere else and I would imagine that you are simply kicked out of the venue. Fans always surge toward the front of the stage at metal concerts when there is a GA floor, i don't believe that is anything new

I don't mean to sound rude or anything but its pretty well know Matt (Shadows) is a huge Guns n' Roses fan much like the rest of the band members. they toured with the new Gn'R back in '06 I believe, and also played and recorded a song with Slash last year. I think we all know that they are 'The Real Deal' by now. You have to acknowledge the fact that they are a HUGE band with a huge following and are also Co-Headlining the tour so yeah things are going to get crazy and security won't be much. That’s common sense right there. So the fact that Matt can move an entire Crowd backwards is amazing to me. I loved your review and you were more detailed with the band than most reviewers are, so thanks!

Well, I was at the show, and I have to say that this is the best one i have seen them put on, mind i have only seen one other performance back in '08. But for those that don't know, M. Shadows takes vocal lessons from the same person as Axl Rose.